Re: Boca Burgers

<< Sherron askked about Boca Burgers. I adore the vegan fat-free
burgers
they make. Will you ever see them in the run-of-the-mill grocery
outlet like Ralphs, Vons, etc? Not unless Boca can come up with the
incredible amount of cash that it takes to BUY their way into mainline
stores.
It's a filthy little game called "buying your way onto the shelf.">>
Many of the mainstream chains in the NY/NJ area - ShopRite, Pathmark,
D'Agostinos - carry Boca burgers, as well as several other frozen
vegeterian products, such as Morningstar Farms, even Amy's Organic at
some stores. Given the increased interest in this type of food -
Green Giant Harvest Burgers and Harvest Crumbles should be a good
indicator that there's some mainstream interest here - Ralph's and
Vons shouldn't be too far behind.
In defense of the grocery industry: the typical grocery store stocks
30,000 to 50,000 different items. Manufacturers introduce 20,000 new
products a year. 80% of them fail. Retailers have enormous amounts
of money tied up in inventories and product carrying costs. Carrying
a new item requires the retailer to make room for it in a warehouse,
adapt what may be an automated warehousing/picking system for the new
product, and program its computers so that it can be scanned at
checkout and reordered by computer. Not to mention re-arranging a
section to make room for the new product. So retailers demand either
slotting fees (grocery shelvage is *the* most expensive real estate in
the world) or failure fees from manufacturers, so that in the likely
case the new product no longer exists a year down the road or just
doesn't sell, the retailer can recoup their costs. It effectively
transfers the risk of the new product completely onto the
manufacturer.
Yes, there are many abuses in the system, and fees can be outrageous,
but it is currently the way business is done in the majority of the
industry. These practices should not however interfere with niche or
specialty products getting onto the shelf. If you and other consumers
want Boca Burgers on the shelf in Ralphs or Vons so badly, there
should be adequate channels to communicate that to store or chain
management; you'd be surprised how often they listen if enough people
ask.
Seth
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